Mumbai: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde has come out with an open challenge, attacking Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and the Maha Vikas Aghadi. He announced that even one of the 40 Shiv Sena MLAs supporting him would quit politics if he lost the next assembly elections.

Addressing a rally of one of his supporters, MLA Abdul Sattar, Shinde said, "I am confident that all these 50 MLAs will win the elections. If any of these losses, I will quit politics.'' He reiterated that in the next state elections, his Shiv Sena and ally BJP will get 200 seats jointly or he will quit politics.

Referring to the recent dramatic uprising triggered by the collapse of the MVA led by then CM Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde admitted that he was concerned about its possible repercussions. He said "When all this was happening, initially there were some 30 MLAs, then 50 MLAs. They were all encouraging and supporting me. But I was upset, I thought what would happen to them because they had put their entire political career at stake with me. Recalling how his group was labelled as dogs, pigs and corpses by all Shiv Sena leaders, Shinde denied allegations that any MLA was forcibly taken away and said they had come together for Hindutva and rebellion for the development of the state.'' He said the MLAs were inspired by Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe, who always considered the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party as political enemies and felt suffocated under the two-and-a-half-year MVA tenure.

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